nt tourist along the newly macadamized Auction highway has no
modern signpost to guide him, no milestone to mark his progress. The
old ones, while most excellent when erected, now lead to abandoned and
impassable roads, and contain information that of necessity confuses
and misleads.

Beyond doubt, the present game, like other modern improvements, has
come to stay, and with that belief the following pages are offered as
an aid to the thorough understanding of the new order of things.

Until the latter part of 1911, practically all players used the same
count in Auction that had for years obtained in Bridge; namely,
No-trump, 12; Hearts, 8; Diamonds, 6; Clubs, 4; and Spades, 2. The
change was first suggested by the author, and it, therefore, seems only
appropriate that he, having had the good fortune to conceive a system
which has been endorsed by general adoption, should have the privilege
of giving to the Auction-loving public his views upon the most
advantageous methods of playing the game under the new conditions, and
thus possibly help to allay the confusion created by the introduction
of an innovation so drastic.

In this connection, it may be interesting to recall how this new count,
which is now so universally used that it should be called, not the
"new" count, but "the" count, came to be suggested, and why it met with
popular favor.

When Auction first took the place of Bridge as the paramount game in
the club and social life of the scientific card-player of the United
States (just as Bridge had previously superseded Whist), it was but
natural that the Bridge count should be continued in Auction.

Admitting that these values were the best possible for Bridge (and of
that there is considerable doubt in the mind of the player of to-day),
it, nevertheless, did not mean that for the new and very different game
of Auction they would of necessity be the most suitable. It was soon
found that the No-trump was so much more powerful than any other bid
that competition was almost eliminated. With even unusually strong
suits, only occasionally could a declaration valued at 12 be
successfully combated by one valued at 8 or less, and the vast majority
of hands were, consequently, played without a Trump.

The inherent theory of the game of Auction provides for a bidding in
which each one of the four suits competes with each other, and also
with the No-trump. Using the Bridge count, this does not take place.
The two blac